[Disclaimer:
The opinion expressed in this article are solely those of Frosty Wolldridge
and not necessary the opinion of NWV, its staff or other writers.]

After
the “Growing illiteracy in America” piece last week, readers
flooded my mailbox with responses. The fact remains, we cannot and
will not remain a vibrant economy or society unless we educate our
children to become productive and contributing members of our country.

Since
I see no end to the 3.1 million immigrants being invited into our
country annually, and there is no outpouring of national sentiment
to stop it, we may want to help educate the children and adults of
other countries to help themselves.

Veteran
Peace Corps volunteer Beverley Tisdell offered a few ideas:

“Basically
I feel we need to take the offensive directly to the countries around
the world where there are high illiteracy rates,” said Tisdell.
“If a country does not have a minimum of 2 percent of its population
graduating from high school and literate, it is a losing battle. Some
of these ideas apply to the US as we are becoming a 3rd world country.

“So
I've listed 11 solutions just off the top of my head. Granted they
may cost some money but not as much as here in the US. Some of the
solutions will also apply to this country as well. My travels have
been limited to Europe and Central America but I have lived with the
poverty, degradation and ignorance in a way that few Americans have
the opportunity to experience. In addition to being an R.N., I retired
as an adult and high school arts teacher although I have taught other
subjects as well.”

Beverley
Tisdell offers solutions to illiteracy:

1.
Expand Micro-loans to women which will allow their children to attend
school and build the local economy as well.

2.
Expand the Peace Corps so there are enough volunteers to meet the
requests of participating countries. The Peace Corps is the most cost
effective return on tax payer money of any program. It requires only
.01% of the State Department budget. It has been flawed when Republican
presidents cut their budget and appointed political directors who
had no vision of the Peace Corps missions.

3.
Develop in-country literacy programs for adults similar, but updated,
to Honduras' Radiofonica. Small radios were sent to remote villages
with no teachers, to broadcast reading lessons in Spanish while an
adult who may or may not be able to read, turns the pages on a flip
chart.

4.
Follow Fidel Castro's model sending teams into Cuba's countryside
to teach, resulting in Cuba having one of the highest literacy rates
in L.A.

5.
Nutritional deficiencies in children not only injury their health,
stunt their growth but lower IQs. This applies to the US as well as
a hungry child cannot learn.

6.
Where parents are forced to send their children to work as domestics,
or to sell homemade candies, orchids, sometimes themselves, from door
to door in order to support their families, instead, pay the parents
to send their children to school to replace the pittance (sometimes
fifty cents) those children earn. It is a sound investment for any
community.

7.
Look at the model of Dudamel and what he has done for the Venezuelan
slum kids with music.

9.
In the US, we have systematically removed the arts, crafts and physical
training, even recess from our schools whenever the budget is cut.
Kids relate to these right-brained activities and those are the things
that motivate and keep them in school. Not everyone is meant to be
a scholar or to go to college. We need apprenticeships and trade schools
and trained craftsmen. These are jobs that can't be exported; but
we have lost the belief in the dignity of work and value of service.

10.
Subliminal messages, brain washing if you will, has played a big part
in dumbing down our population and that of other countries as well.

Look
at the text books, watch TV, magazine ads, and popular music on the
radio. It's there ad nausea. The recent expose' of Disney productions
is now all over the internet -- even FaceBook.

11.
One size does not fit all. Ungraded primaries would allow a child
to remain in the primary class until he physically, emotionally and
intellectually matured enough to meet those requirements before being
passed to the 4th grade. At that age children will learn quite easily
from each other. At the "gang age" I would teach boys and
girls in separate classes even though they were in the same school.
Then in high school they would be better able to handle the co-ed
classes.

Listen
to Frosty Wooldridge on Wednesdays as he interviews
top national leaders on his radio show "Connecting the Dots"
at www.themicroeffect.com
at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Adjust tuning in to your time zone.

Frosty
Wooldridge possesses a unique view of the world, cultures and families
in that he has bicycled around the globe 100,000 miles, on six continents
and six times across the United States in the past 30 years. His published
books include: "HANDBOOK FOR TOURING BICYCLISTS" ; “STRIKE THREE! TAKE
YOUR BASE”; “IMMIGRATION’S UNARMED INVASION: DEADLY CONSEQUENCES”; “MOTORCYCLE
ADVENTURE TO ALASKA: INTO THE WIND—A TEEN NOVEL”; “BICYCLING AROUND THE
WORLD: TIRE TRACKS FOR YOUR IMAGINATION”; “AN EXTREME ENCOUNTER: ANTARCTICA.”
His next book: “TILTING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY INTO A SWAMP.” He lives
in Denver, Colorado.

Since
I see no end to the 3.1 million immigrants being invited into our country
annually, and there is no outpouring of national sentiment to stop it,
we may want to help educate the children and adults of other countries
to help themselves.